Western Digital Brings WD Photos App To Android

If you own a Western Digital NAS drive (like the My Book Live, WD ShareSpace or My Book World Edition), and you also own an Android smartphone, this news is definitely aimed at you. Western Digital just introduced the WD Photos app for Android, giving even Android users the ability to check into their photo album at home.

Previously, WD Photos was available for iPhone, but now the Android Market is populated with its own version that can be downloaded free of charge. The WD Photos app is compatible with the most popular Android OS-based smartphones, in native resolution, including, but not limited to, the Droid by Motorola, DROID INCREDIBLE by HTC, Nexus One, and HTC EVO 4G.

fter users have copied their pictures into the Shared Pictures folder on their WD network drive, the WD Photos app provides users access to their photo library while connected to their home network or from anywhere they can access the Internet using compatible mobile devices. Users' photos remain private on their network drive, eliminating the need for time-consuming uploads to online photo services and the need to choose which pictures to sync to their Android smartphone. On their Android device, consumers can search for their specific photos by name or the date the photo was taken and scroll through thumbnail previews while sharing all of their memories with friends and family.

The only major catch is that Android 2.1 or greater is needed, so consumers stuck on 1.6 will need to either upgrade or simple wait it out.

LAKE FOREST, Calif., Nov. 2, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Western Digital® (NYSE: WDC), the world’s leader in external storage solutions, today announced that its WD Photos™ photo viewer app now enables Android™ smartphone users to view all the photos stored on their WD home network drive, including My Book® Live™, My Book® World Edition™ and WD ShareSpace™ models, anywhere they have an Internet connection. The WD Photos app also is available for iPad™, iPhone®, iPhone4 and iPod touch® mobile digital devices, and is now available at the Android Market™ as a free download.

Designed for the Android platform, the WD Photos app is compatible with the most popular Android OS-based smartphones, in native resolution, including, but not limited to, the Droid® by Motorola®, DROID INCREDIBLE by HTC®, Nexus One™, and HTC EVO™ 4G. After users have copied their pictures into the Shared Pictures folder on their WD network drive, the WD Photos app provides users access to their photo library while connected to their home network or from anywhere they can access the Internet using compatible mobile devices. Users' photos remain private, safe and secure on their network drive, eliminating the need for time-consuming uploads to costly online photo services and the need to choose which pictures to sync to their Android smartphone. On their Android device, consumers can search for their specific photos by name or the date the photo was taken and scroll through thumbnail previews while sharing all of their memories with friends and family.

Android phones have captured 34 percent of the fast-growing U.S. smartphone market, and shipments increased 886 percent in the second calendar quarter of 2010, year-over-year, making it the largest smartphone platform in the U.S., according to Canalys, a leading global provider of smartphone market data and analysis.

"Android phones are enjoying a huge success in the market," said Dale Pistilli, vice president of marketing for WD's branded products group. "By customizing the WD Photos app for Android phones, we provide a greater number of our users a better experience for viewing and sharing the precious photos safely stored at home on their WD home network drives."

WD Photos Photo Viewer App Features

Features of the WD Photos photo viewer app for Android smartphones include:

* Photos are automatically resized for perfect viewing on Android devices, leaving originals on the network drives in full resolution; * Smart filtering to find the photos you want -- view photos by album, folder or all images and search by date, folder name or file name; * Access previously viewed photos offline; * Share photos via email, Facebook, Twitter, Picasa™ and other methods; * Assign a photo to a contact; * Add a photo to the gallery; and, * View photos in a slideshow.

The WD Photos photo viewer app is compatible with Android OS 2.1 or later and works with WD's My Book Live and My Book World Edition network drives and WD ShareSpace network storage systems. Users must register with WD's free remote access service to use the app. For detailed information, visit the WD Photos photo viewer page.